A few weeks ago, Channel SVP Keith Goodwin invited readers of this blog and his Twitter followers to submit questions — and he picked three to answer on video. There were plenty of excellent questions submitted, some prompted internal discussions at Cisco, others gave us a better understanding of your top-of-mind concerns. Ultimately, the dialog that was fostered highlights the reason we love social media: the conversations. Read More »

Here at the Channels blog, we love success stories. And we’re betting your customers do, too. Sure, it’s helpful to know where improvements need to happen, but it’s also a great practice to highlight what’s working. A customer success story captured on video is a compelling way to increase sales and promote your brand. Videos like this one with Larry’s Foreign and Domestic Car Service highlight real-world examples of solutions and how they’re being used.

This, in turn, helps your customers better understand what’s in it for them and how they can benefit from your products and solutions. In the car repair shop’s case, integration of CRM and voice helped them provide better service for customers — and the video tells the compelling story.

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In many cases, your website is the first interaction customers have with your business. If visitors are lost, confused, or can’t find what they need, they will leave — along with their business.To provide some guidance around the subject of web content, we chatted with content guru Gerry McGovern, author of the book “Killer Web Content” and founder/CEO of Customer Carewords. Online content (as opposed to print content), says McGovern, is much more specific and to the point. Web content drives action. When creating your content strategy, start with the top tasks a visitor would perform and build content around those. The websites that fail, he says simply, are organization-centric. They say to the customer, “fit into our way of working.” In the age of You Tube and social media, websites need to focus on customer needs. Watch the video to learn McGovern’s three quick and practical tips for creating content that will help increase sales and decrease frustration. Read More »

We have become so used to the acronym “VAR” in our industry that we often forget that the first two letters stand for “Value” and “Add.”

Above is an except from an article on value vs. volume by Surinder Brar who is the Senior Director of WW Channel Strategy and Programs at Cisco. To find out more about volume vs. value-based selling, read his article in eChannelLine and watch the video.
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A podcast over on the VAR Guy’s site features Maryann Von Seggern, Director of Worldwide Channels Development for Cisco Capital. In this short interview, Von Seggern highlights some of financing programs for VARs and Channel partners as well as some key trends when it comes to financing options. Cisco Capital has provided credit support to drive an additional $2 billion in sales for Cisco Channel partners since October 2008, according to Von Seggern. Podcast: Cisco Capital Financing Options for Channel Partners Read More »